What To Do When Your First Draft Is A Piece Of Shit? (1 Viewer)

[taxman]

Well, I just finished my first draft for my script for Video and, to tell you the truth, it's a total piece of shit. IMO, the idea of the movie is pretty good, and when I drew up a plot outline, I thought it was gonna be a classic....but after writing out a draft, everything feels very lame. The dialogue seems extremely crappy and stale. For what felt like a good minute of dialogue at writing it, there's only about 20 seconds of mediocrity. I don't really want to post it up to anyone, since A: I don't want my idea stolen and B: I'm embarrassed that I would produce such crap.

So, what should I do now that I've got a god awful, piece of shit first draft? I don't really know whether to start again from scratch, or work on this one.

What sort of situations did past students get into as far as first drafts are concerned. Any help will be much appreciated.

 

[bluesky100]

Can you not have your teacher look over you first draft? Point out were you could make improvements. Just a thought, my English teacher always allowed students to make a draft beforehand so would could make adjustments if need be on final essays.

From personal experience I think it's always easier to work on what you have already have rather than start again.

 

[glitterfairy]

Haha! Believe me sweetheart, the first draft is almost always the worst

To my knowledge quite a lot of students did a full re-working of their major work after they'd finished their first draft. This doesn't have to entirely mean starting from scratch - the way I did it, I went right back to the very beginning and started refining everything, even if it meant taking the story into an entirely new direction, or doing it from a different perspective. Ok, so maybe now it sounds like starting from scratch, but it's not - this time, you have an idea of what will work and what will not, and perhaps even be more objective the second time around (which can be a good thing).

A full first draft, as painful as it may sound, is actually very good. At least now, you have something to work off - look for inconsistencies, even ideas or events in your major work that need to have "little seeds" planted much earlier in the work (this was a really big one for me, as I had way too much jackhammering going on in my first full draft. In the second, I let my ideas have time to develop).

Something you will also find - I think that the vast majority of finished major works only vaguely resemble their first draft, with the exception of basic concepts, ideas and major plot points. Everything has to start somewhere!

Re-working was a pain in the butt and took me the longest time - but when I finished, I was so much happier - I finally had something I was satisfied with, although it did take a considerable about of further refining to get it to where I wanted it to be. If you have a good idea and are confident that it CAN turn out to be something good, don't give up on it yet.

 

[beccaxx]

and dont forget, we are all our own worst critic! show it to ur teacher n work out between u wat u need to improve

ps- this is why its ur FIRST DRAFT! they r sposed to get better.

 

[glitterfairy]

Nothing's ever worse than your first complete draft. Write that one down, kiddos

 

[Jacks]

glitterfairy is right, EE2 is all about process, it is all about refining and improving...your first draft is not meant to be fantastic, and frankly I don't think that a first draft can be. You are given a lot of time to both research and write your major work so that you can rework it and make it better, it is expected that you will do this, and it is only through this that your major work evolves and improves. Definitely do not doubt your own ability or the potential of your story, if you don't like something identify what you think needs improving and in what ways you think it can be improved. As glitterfairy says you can draw inspiration from your first draft if nothing else. Remember your major work is meant to be a work in progress, so allow for this progression and this growth. I would be more than happy to give you any pointers you need, or read through what you have. It is not unusual, at least I found, for one to hate their own work...getting an objective opinion, or new perspective can really motivate and encourage you...keep at it and you will be rewarded for your efforts, and proud of what you've been able to create.

 

[jawjayo]

wow. pretty impressed that you've completed a first draft. i did a critical essay so i had to read heaps and didnt have my first draft done til beginning of second term but nonetheless it was horrendous. you have so much time to fix it. it's meant to be bad, that's why it's a first draft and you still have sooo much time to go. i rewrote mine soooooo many times, i was even rewriting it during the trials. If you love the subject it's worth it. If you don't then drop it coz the drama of it all will build up and the dark force will take over...
no srsly, it's all "the process" and the mark at the end makes up for it, so in the mean time look at it as though uve actually got something to write down in your logbook journal thingo and know what has to be fixed (whether that's all of ur video or not ).

 

[glitterfairy]

GEORGIE! *goes nuts*

Listen to this girl. She knows her stuff!

And back on the track - most people from my school only finished their first draft during the Term 1 into Term 2 holidays, and even then it was only because the teachers had our home phone numbers so they could nag more effectively... haha!

 

[jhakka]

Well, I just finished my first draft for my script for Video and, to tell you the truth, it's a total piece of shit. IMO, the idea of the movie is pretty good, and when I drew up a plot outline, I thought it was gonna be a classic....but after writing out a draft, everything feels very lame. The dialogue seems extremely crappy and stale. For what felt like a good minute of dialogue at writing it, there's only about 20 seconds of mediocrity. I don't really want to post it up to anyone, since A: I don't want my idea stolen and B: I'm embarrassed that I would produce such crap.

So, what should I do now that I've got a god awful, piece of shit first draft? I don't really know whether to start again from scratch, or work on this one.

What sort of situations did past students get into as far as first drafts are concerned. Any help will be much appreciated.

Write it again.

 

[400miles]

Or just cry endlessly.

 

[zenger69]

Have someone else said it's a piece of shit????

Because you sometimes get the Writers Syndrome. A piece of work you've worked on for so long and re read so many times, gets tedious, therefore you get bored of it and it appears lame.

If your sure ur not in that trap then i'd advised, rewriting it.

 

[Jacks]

I agree, though I really do feel you should get someone else to read through it. I realise that you may not want to do this, since you are convinced it is bad...but I really thought the same thing about mine and I got 47/50. It might not be as bad as you think, and the comments you'll get from others who read it mightn't be as disheartening as you expect. Keep drafting and trying to improve what you have, but like I said earlier I'd be happy to read it privately if you like.

 

[minushuman]

Enter the shower, turn on the cold water, sit down and begin sobbing.

That's what i did anyway.

I'm sure it isn't a piece of shit, but I don't like it. I feel forced into doing a short story when i don't want to. Infact i hate it.

There's like ages to go before submission time so don't worry.

 

[Abbeygale]

There's like ages to go before submission time so don't worry.

If I've learned anything from my assesments this year, it's that 'it's not due for ages' is a very, very dangerous thought.

 

[Jacks]

I agree...it's a very dangerous thought if you keep repeating it up until the day or week it's due and then suddenly realise your mistake. It's easy to lose track of time, but work steadily at it and you'll be fine. You do have time, but don't let that fact be a reason for you to think you don't have to utilise it.

 

[Sweets]

At least you have a first draft

Anyway now u can do the fun process of refining and editing. I always find that no matter what i have rote even if its crap, by showing it to other ppl and reading it over myself. I can begin to pull it apart and edit. I love editing. Its soo fun. I have nothing to edit currently though! Except for a lame intro.

 

[ameh]

the thing is, with shit it's quite good to fertilise and make compost of it into a 50/50 as long as you rewrite and get a gardener e.g. TEACHER to rake over it constructively.

 

[taxman]

Damnit, I can't rep you amoz.

Things have been going a bit better. I completed another draft and am currently re-working that one with a more interesting plot. It's starting to turn out into gaseous fecal matter rather than one giant heap of solid crap. Problem is that I don't know how to end it AND I'm running severely over-time.

 

[black_man]

don't worry about it dude, it'll be right. remember, this subject is like an artform, and if we treat it that way things will be a million times better. writing, whether it be script or short stories or poetry (i'm doing poetry) it's like art, so it's pretty weird and unpredictable. so the worst thing to do is be concerned over it, because that might sort of stagnate the creative flow. so just keep it ticking over in your head, but dont get too stressed over it. pretty soon you might sit down and KAPOW! it'll all just flow, you'll get these ideas flowing like wine and it'll be stellar, so yeah, just keep an open mind, because ideas can come from anywhere, and dont be afraid to keep a pad and pen close to you, just for that reason. but yeah, i'm not one to tell you what to do, so yeah, it's just another way to look at it, i could be completely wrong

 

[Alimoe_KG]

I am 6500 words into my first draft. And severely unsure of whether it's a piece of crap or not. =) I am assuming it is since you all say that the first draft is always crap. =/